Today didn't turn out exactly as I'd planned, but I did get to watch the Watchmen director's cut (no extras yet), and I did finish the rough draft of "My Very Own Serial Number."
I always feel deeply satisfied on finishing a rough draft, but as for you fine people out there, don't get too excited yet. Now I have to let the story simmer for awhile, then taste it again and spice it up as needed. It won't be ready for posting for another week or two.
As for Watchmen, I think I'll wait until I've had the chance to see all the extras before I do a full DVD review; but I'll go ahead and say a little about the director's cut of the movie itself, now.
Most of the additions are just snippets here and there; the only really big new scene is the death of a secondary character. Anyone who's read the graphic novel or followed the movie news will know whom I'm talking about. It's a very powerful scene; and I'm very, very sorry it didn't make it into the theatrical release. It adds so much emotion to the story.
The other additions mostly involved Rorschach, and of course, more of Rorschach is always a good thing.
There were also a couple of new bits involving Laurie and her/Dr. Manhattan's government handlers. You can see that these bits were meant to develop Laurie's character arc a little more, but unfortunately, Malin Akerman is no better an actress on second viewing than on first. It's almost painful, watching her scenes with Patrick Wilson and Billy Crudup. She's like a kitten playing with extremely well behaved pit bulls.
On the other hand, Matthew Goode comes off very slightly better the second time around, and I don't blame him so much for how he played Ozymandias as I blame Zach Snyder. He was the one who made Adrian a floppy-haired fop, and then a (highlight for spoiler text) [stereotypically sneering villain instead of a deeply twisted wannabe-world-savior].
But what I keep coming back to is this: the source material for this movie was so fantastic that a faithful adaptation really can't go that wrong. It's not a perfect movie, but it's still pretty damn awesome, and I'm very glad to have my own copy. I can't wait to explore the extras.
2 comments:
I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts on the director's cut. :)
The "finished rough draft" stage, I find, is the most exciting stage of writing... all of your thoughts are down on paper, for a brief moment, and you can relax and enjoy the glow before turning on the "ruthless editor" brain and start murdering your darlings.
In short, sounds like good times!
Post a Comment